Beutel Goodman & Co Ltd. Has $348.48 Million Position in The Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS)

Beutel Goodman & Co Ltd. trimmed its holdings in The Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) (TSE:BNS) by 9.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,492,912 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 710,639 shares during the quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia comprises about 1.9% of Beutel Goodman & Co Ltd.’s portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest position. Beutel Goodman & Co Ltd. owned approximately 0.52% of Bank of Nova Scotia worth $348,482,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Bank of Nova Scotia in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $690,746,000. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp boosted its stake in Bank of Nova Scotia by 260.1% during the third quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 5,480,486 shares of the bank’s stock worth $298,575,000 after acquiring an additional 3,958,580 shares in the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank grew its holdings in Bank of Nova Scotia by 9.6% in the third quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 24,990,868 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,361,752,000 after purchasing an additional 2,195,604 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Bank of Nova Scotia by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 51,363,146 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,758,150,000 after purchasing an additional 969,488 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Bank of Nova Scotia by 370.0% during the fourth quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 883,511 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $47,391,000 after purchasing an additional 695,519 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 49.13% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on BNS shares. CIBC restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Bank of Nova Scotia in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Cibc World Mkts cut Bank of Nova Scotia from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on Bank of Nova Scotia from $83.00 to $81.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $81.00.

Bank of Nova Scotia Price Performance

BNS stock opened at $47.74 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $59.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 1.11. The Bank of Nova Scotia has a 52-week low of $43.68 and a 52-week high of $57.07. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $49.87 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $52.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03.

Bank of Nova Scotia Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 28th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.7415 per share. This represents a $2.97 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 1st. Bank of Nova Scotia’s dividend payout ratio is 82.77%.

Bank of Nova Scotia Profile

The Bank of Nova Scotia provides various banking products and services in Canada, the United States, Mexico, Peru, Chile, Colombia, the Caribbean and Central America, and internationally. It operates through Canadian Banking, International Banking, Global Wealth Management, and Global Banking and Markets segments.